Young men jailed over gang rape

THREE young men convicted of gang-raping a woman at Gobabis five years ago were sent to prison at the conclusion of their trial in the Windhoek High Court yesterday.

Two of the men, convicted on two counts of rape, were sentenced to effective prison terms of ten years each, while another of the three accused – found guilty on one charge of rape – received a seven-year jail term from judge Naomi Shivute.

The judge told them during the sentencing 
that although they were youthful and first-time offenders when they committed the gang rape, it was a serious crime. It was also aggravating that the complainant in the matter had been raped by three people, Shivute added.

The accused found guilty on one charge of rape was 16 years old when the gang rape was committed at Gobabis during the evening of 5 March 2016. The other two accused were aged 16 and 17, respectively.

Their names are being withheld because they were juveniles when they committed the crime.

The complainant in the case recounted during their trial that the incident took place while the three accused were supposedly escorting her home from a bar where she had spent the evening.

She told the court the third accused threatened her with a knife and a panga, instructed her to lie down on the ground and then raped her. After that, the second accused also raped her, and the first accused then followed suit, she said.

She also testified that the second accused ran off after he had raped her, and that the other two accused each then again raped her.

The three young men claimed during their trial that they had consensual intercourse with the complainant. However, Shivute found that their versions were so improbable that it could not reasonably possibly be true in the circumstances of the matter, and also concluded that the complainant had given credible and reliable evidence against them.

After being convicted, the second and third accused both told the court they regretted what they had done and asked for forgiveness. At the same time, though, the second accused blamed the complainant for the incident and said he did not intend to rape her, while the third accused claimed he was not aware that what he was doing was wrong, the judge recounted.

She commented that neither of them accepted responsibility for their actions.

The second and third accused also told the court they were both employed as farmworkers before the incident.

All three of the accused did not advance far with their education, the judge noted, with the first and third accused having attended school up to Grade 5, while the second accused progressed up to Grade 7.

The three men were represented by defence lawyers Milton Engelbrecht, Jermaine Muchali and Ndiriraro Kauari. State advocate Tangeni Iitula conducted the prosecution during their trial.